GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The (RV) Indiana Tech men's basketball team used a strong second half and defensive effort to earn its fourth straight win and sixth straight WHAC win with a 66-54 victory over No. 24 Aquinas on Saturday afternoon.
Miles Robinson had a game-high 18 points while pulling down a season-best seven rebounds and dishing out four assists.
Jantzen Goodwin and Jaelen Manson each chipped in 12 points apiece with Goodwin going 4-of-8 from the three point line.
Tanner Watkins added eight points off the bench while
Lavonte Davis had seven points and a team-high eight boards.
Neither side was able to gain much traction through the first 20 minutes of play, with neither side leading by more than six points until a jumper from Bryan Mitzner broke a three minute and 50 second scoring drought for both sides with 1:12 left in the half to give the Saints a 34-27 advantage heading into the locker room.
The Warriors would come out of the break strong though, using a 12-1 run to take a 39-35 lead at the 14:07 mark. Aquinas would take a 41-39 lead just a minute and a half later, but a Watkins jumper with 10:39 to go would give the Orange and Black the lead for good.
After allowing the Saints to shoot 46.9% from the field and 60.0% from behind the arc, Tech would tighten up in the second half and limit the hosts to 20.7% from the field and just 12.5% from the three point line.
A 13-2 run by the Warriors would push their advantage to 58-45 with three minutes left in the game. The Saints would cut the lead down to six and seven with under 2:15 to go, but triples from Manson and Goodwin would give the momentum right back to the Warriors as they handed the 24
th ranked team in the country their first loss in conference play.
Tech (8-4, 6-1 WHAC) will take a break from competition this week for finals before hosting Concordia on Dec. 21. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. from the Schaefer Center and links to live stats and video will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com.
